The rings of magic blossomed to life as Teyva continued her summoning, her gaze focused on the high walls and lines of archers ready to bring down anything that got too close. She had been expecting the Orcs to mount a resistance of some kind but she was impressed that they’d brought so many to the table so quickly. Though from what she knew about the combined forces of the Orcish people, this was a drop in the bucket. The sound of rattling armor plates drew her attention and she glanced to the right in time to see Batel approaching at a dead sprint. His blazing blue eyes leaving a bit of a trail behind him while he slid to a stop.

“News?” Teyva asked, turning her focus back on the nearing fight.

“General Troud broke from the main force and went on ahead,” Batel said, resting his hand on the pommel of his weapon.

Teyva’s lip twitched, “Figured she would,” She said, feeling her mana steadily drop as the first set of summoning circles completed. Frames of crystalline ice began to take shape over the circles, skeletons made of the purest cold. White light suffused their bodies and gave them form. Soon four Death Elementals stepped out into the world, throwing their arms out and roaring with battle fury. Around her, more creatures began to appear, the priests under Myranda’s leadership calling up Behemoths, Mimics, Rilks, and other nightmares. Many limbs, many eyes, monstrous wings, talons and claws. In a matter of minutes her army had almost tripled in strength. Clouds of reddish sand bloomed around them as the creatures moved forward, leaving the humanoid part of the army behind.

Teyva lowered her hands and took a breath, glancing over at Batel again. He was standing next to her with a look of awe on his face.

“Batel?”

He blinked and shook his head, “Apologies, its the first time I’m seeing you summon them so close.”

She chuckled, “The best is yet to come.”

A shout rose up in the distance, the walls a clamor of activity. A response shout came a moment later. Teyva scanned the battlements for signs of Sari and spotted some sharp movement off to the right. She closed her eyes, changing perspective and slipping into one of her darkeyes. The view above the battlefield was more comprehensive. A line of creatures surged in the direction of the walls while the Orcs held their bows up and at the ready, waiting for them to get into range. Teyva urged the darkeyes forward, ready for her response. She left the one she was occupying in the air. In a weird way it reminded her of a kind of video game she used to play when she was younger.

She heard Batel say something and held up a hand, she had to time it just right.

As a single host the Orcs released their deadly arrows, orcish archers far superior to bowmen of any other race. Their raw physical strength sending a cloud of thick, deadly objects into the air with the force of a javelin. Teyva set her jaw and leaned her head forward, as the arrows arced before coming down. “Now,” Teyva hissed, and ordered the darkeyes to cast [Create Wall] in one long line, drawing the wall up at an angle and over her encroaching forces. The arrows embedded themselves in the stone, catching the first volley and leaving her monsters unscathed. She cracked a grin as the walls retracted back into the ground and the monsters continued their advance. She gave standing orders to the darkeyes to repeat the process as necessary, even if it slowed the advance a little.

“Now to give them something to worry about more than the little ones,” She muttered, shooting a glance at Batel. “You were saying?”

“No ma’am, you answered my question quite effectively,” He laughed, rubbing his head, “I’ll return to my battalion.”

She shook her head, “Not yet, stay with me a while and enjoy the show.”

“Show? This is a siege, Queen Mother,” He said with a bit of a frown.

She blinked, that was odd. She supposed that made sense but this was hardly a true battle, just a demonstration of force. “R-right, slip of the tongue,” She said and turned her focus to a spot at the rear of the line of monsters, holding out her hands and drawing a deep gouge into her mana pool, casting [Summon Giant] and selecting the Death Element. She felt a wave of wooziness wash over her and called for Nephral to join her from the rear as the circle blossomed to life, growing larger and larger as the casting time dragged on. Particles of light began to gather in the space above the circle, condensing and taking form.

The sudden sensation of mana regeneration clearing her mind informed her that Nephral had already come into range. Batel didn’t so much as flinch as the Sphinx landed to his right, the large feline stepping into Teyva’s shadow and curling around her back, eyeing the spell as it continued.

“It has been a long time since I last saw you summon this creature, Mother,” Nephral muttered.

“Besides training, the last time I used it in a fight was the siege of Osan,” Teyva breathed, “I know.”

“What is it?” Batel asked breathlessly, craning his neck as the form grew larger and larger.

“A Death Giant,” Teyva said.

The dark-skinned, gargantuan humanoid took shape. Its gleaming black armor hanging loosely off of its grim and gaunt body. It’s hand tightened around a battle axe that was almost as long as the walls were tall. Arrows soared into the air as a fresh roar rang out from the orcs, the new focus of their attack the more significant threat that had just appeared. The giant did not make a sound, it did not roar, it did not growl, it simply began to walk forward. Each step sent a tremor through the ground as it approached the walls, a massive hand extended towards the men on the sides. Rilks began to crawl up the giant’s legs, looking for a way to ascend the sheer walls more easily.

“By the Moon and Stars,” Batel breathed.

“That’s not my biggest summon,” Teyva bragged, grinning at him, “But the Lydan would be overkill here.”

Shouts continued to ring out, arrows flew, and the soldiers on the battlements scampered out of the way as the Giant’s hand reached them, grabbing onto the side. Teyva snorted out a laugh and put her hands on her hips, “I really liked this show when I was a kid.”

“Did you say something, Mother?” Nephral asked.

Teyva shrugged and crossed her arms, now it was time to see just how much fight these guys had in them. Elat and Sari had insisted that the orcs were proud and it was possible they would not surrender until the last man. She hoped that they had at least more sense than that. She’d already warned Sari to keep killing to a minimum if she ran on ahead. Dead men did not make an army. She closed her eyes and returned to the darkeye over the battlefield, watching the last line of walls rise up before the horde of monsters reached the base of the walls. Soon they would begin climbing. She spread her senses out between all the darkeyes present, taking a breath when the vertigo that came from so many different perspectives at once began to assail her mind.

She opened her mouth to speak but shut it as a wave of wooziness washed over her again and her vision returned to her body. She blinked, “What?”

“Mother! Your nose!” Nephral blurted.

Teyva reached up and touched her lip, pulling her fingers away, “Blood?”

Panic set in next, “Wait a sec, no no no, hold up, I had seven more hours before the next-” She glanced at her status bar. The symbol for [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] had brightened again. “What the hell?” She gasped, staggering a little only to be caught by Batel and Nephral.

“My queen!” Batel gasped, “Are you alright?”

Teyva gasped, shuddering as the status effect began to take hold. Every ounce of strength she had left her. Her muscles trembled before beginning to nearly vibrate as they tensed and relaxed over and over. Her vision dimmed, her eyes watered, her skin felt wrong. She gasped and with the last of her senses ordered one of the darkeyes to draw a line of walls around her, encasing herself, Nephral, and Batel.

When she snapped back to reality she had no idea how much time had passed but she could tell the seizure had done its work. Once again in her partial form, she was as tall as Batel even while sitting on the ground. She held her head in a powerful, clawed hand, “What the fuck just happened?” She rumbled, coughing and wiping her lips to get some of the blood off. She waved a hand and called up her combat log. “I want answers you piece of-”

[Teyva Akura] casts [Summon Death Elemental]

Mana has been used! [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] cooldown accelerated!

[Teyva Akura] casts [Summon Death Elemental]

Mana has been used! [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] cooldown accelerated!

[Teyva Akura] casts [Summon Death Elemental]

Mana has been used! [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] cooldown accelerated!

[Teyva Akura] casts [Summon Death Giant]

Mana has been used! [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] cooldown accelerated!

Cooldown complete, [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] triggering.

“Damn it,” She swore, “I knew eight hours was too easy.”